Are the Visalia Rawhide cursed?

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Visalia Rawhide's Camden Duzenack is one of 16 players who is returning from last season's team.(Photo: Ron Holman)

Are the Visalia Rawhide cursed?

Visalia has not celebrated a California League championship since 1978 — one of the longest league title droughts in minor league baseball.

Since that crown, seven different presidents have sat in the Oval Office and thousands of players have shuffled through Recreation Park.

The Rawhide open the 2019 campaign on Thursday against the San Jose Giants at Rec Park. First pitch is 7 p.m.

The Rawhide are coming off a 70-70 regular-season record, highlighted by an appearance in the Cal League Championship Finals, where they were swept by the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes in a best-of-five series.

According to MLB Pipeline, the Rawhide's top prospect is outfielder Jake McCarthy, a 2018 first-round pick. He is ranked as the Arizona Diamondbacks' No. 8 prospect.

Sixteen players who ended the season with the Rawhide last year are also returning for 2019.

Will that continuity and familiarity pay off?

"Absolutely," Visalia Rawhide first-year manager Shawn Roof said. "Anytime you're at a level for a second time, it just helps that confidence level. It's always tough that first year. Some guys take it better than others but that second year, that continuity and that familiarity of that ballpark, where to go eat, just being in that town, you're host families, it's huge. We're really looking forward for those guys to get in a second year."

Chopper's curse

The story behind Visalia's curse dates back to the year the team last won a Cal League title — 1978.

That season, led by future major leaguer Joe Charboneau, known as the Visalia Oaks at the time, the team posted an overall record of 97-42 en route to the league championship.

Charboneau was one of the Oaks' biggest stars, batting .350 while registering more than 100 RBIs.

Outside of baseball, Charboneau was the owner of a pet alligator named Chopper.

After the 1978 season, Charboneau returned home to Illinois.

Chopper stayed behind with a teammate in Visalia.

Without Charboneau as the caretaker, Chopper died.

Since 1978, Visalia has reached the Cal League finals 11 times with no league crowns.

Visalia's only other league title came in 1971 as the Visalia Mets.

Is Roof a believer in curses?

"I do," Roof said. "I'm very superstitious."

Infielder Camden Duzenack, who is in his second season in Visalia, does not believe in curses, though.

"Every year we try to win the championship," Duzenack said. "It doesn't matter who's on the team or who the coach is. That's why we play baseball. I don't think a lot of us believes in the curse or anything like that."

Jeff Brueggemann, a closer on the 1978 Oaks' championship team, doesn't buy into the curse but did offer a possible solution to those who do to help end the club's title woes.

"Somebody on the team needs to get a pet alligator," said Brueggemann, a Visalia resident and economics professor at Fresno State. "If they want to break that curse, they need to have one of their players buy an alligator."

A new opportunity

Curses or not, the 2019 season presents a new journey for the Visalia Rawhide.

This year's ball club is led by Roof. His coaching staff includes pitching coach Shane Loux, hitting coach Travis Denker and coach Nick Evans.

Roof previously served as the manager of the Hillsboro Hops, the D'Backs' Class-A short-season affiliate, in Oregon.

During his two-year reign in the Pacific Northwest, Roof's teams advanced to the postseason twice.

The 6-foot-3 McCarthy, an outfielder, also stood out in spring training.

In 58 games with Hillsboro last season, McCarthy batted .288 with 22 RBIs and 24 extra-base hits (17 doubles, four triples, three homers).

"Very good athleticism in the outfield," Roof said. "Good speed and could swing the bat very well."

The Rawhide's seven-game homestand will include a four-game series against San Jose and a three-game set versus defending league champion Rancho Cucamonga.

"We got a chance to coach a lot of these guys in spring training," Roof said. "They're a fun group. A tight-knit group and they play with a lot of intensity, a lot of energy."

Note: If you’re a San Francisco Giants fan, you’ll probably want to head out to the ballpark when the San Jose Giants come to town. Why? Two of the Giants’ top prospects, catcher Joey Bart and outfielder Heliot Ramos, are scheduled to play for San Jose. Bart was the No. 2 overall pick in last year’s amateur draft, getting a $7 million signing bonus. Ramos signed for a $3.1 million bonus back in 2017 during the international signing period. Both players are expected to major forces at Oracle Park by 2021.

Vongni Yang is a sports reporter for the Visalia Times-Delta/Tulare Advance-Register. He covers Tulare County sports. Follow him on Twitter @Vongni. To support his continued coverage of local sports, subscribe today.